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Entry level 3d printer

Old 09-29-2019, 10:14 AM
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Default Entry level 3d printer

I’ve been reading about printers but what would be a good entry level for printing things for this hobby not looking to print anything huge
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Old 09-29-2019, 04:19 PM
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Price point?
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Old 09-29-2019, 05:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Madulla
Price point?
a couple of hundred I suppose
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Old 09-29-2019, 05:57 PM
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Couple hundred would get you a creality ender 3 or monoprice select v2.

Both good printers that have decent build volume and quality printers. I have a ender 3 pro and if you can build a RC kit you can put together a 3D printer kit.
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Old 09-30-2019, 07:44 AM
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Another vote for Creality Ender 3. I cut my teeth on a Anet A8 and went through a fairly steep learning curve with that printer. Got a Ender 3 this year and it printed really well straight out of the box without needing significant upgrades. If you catch them on sale, they can be had for under $175.
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Old 09-30-2019, 09:06 AM
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I would also say the Ender 3. I got a Creality CR20 Pro, but think the Ender 3 might be better and it’s cheaper.
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Old 10-01-2019, 06:09 AM
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FWIW look into a resin system if you can fit on the bed. Sirayatech Blue resin is comparable to FDM parts in strength, but you get an order of magnitude more precision and supports are way easier. For example if I wanted to print a steering knuckle, I'd much rather do that on my photon than my cr-10.
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Old 10-02-2019, 04:46 AM
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Old 10-02-2019, 02:19 PM
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Originally Posted by TheRulesLawyer
FWIW look into a resin system if you can fit on the bed. Sirayatech Blue resin is comparable to FDM parts in strength, but you get an order of magnitude more precision and supports are way easier. For example if I wanted to print a steering knuckle, I'd much rather do that on my photon than my cr-10.
I have been under the impression that you do not want to do resin as a 1st printer. Resin is expensive, hazardous to your health, requires more prep and cleanup, tank/bed actually wear out and are expensive, and outside of some specialty resin's just not that strong.

Not that resin printing doesnt have its place in the 3d print world, maybe just not for one just starting out.

https://all3dp.com/fdm-vs-sla/
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Old 10-02-2019, 07:08 PM
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I knew NOTHING about 3d printing. I am a 3d design guy for video games. I bought a cheap ender 3 about a month ago and within a couple hours I was printing all of my old designs from 5 years ago. It is truly an amazing little machine. I think I have $250 into the whole thing. I mainly bought it to make nice onroad 1/12th scale and touring car bumpers with the soft filament.

TLDR: Ender 3 cheapo is amazing right out of the box.
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Old 10-06-2019, 04:58 PM
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I think I’m going to go with the Ender 3 as recommended it has great reviews but the one thing is will it be just another electronic that I use once in a blue moon ? That’s what has me worried i me the investment is minimal so that’s not an issue
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Old 10-06-2019, 09:01 PM
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Most things take hours to make. So really you can make maybe 1 thing each night after work. I have a list of items to make and don’t have the time. The printer is working every minute I am home. I am also making things for the guys at the track. My printer will be paid off by the cash they give me.
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Old 10-06-2019, 09:09 PM
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Do you guys make your own designs? Is it hard to learn how to make item from scratch without plans found on the net?
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Old 10-07-2019, 07:55 AM
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Originally Posted by morvlorv
Do you guys make your own designs? Is it hard to learn how to make item from scratch without plans found on the net?
I would say 50/50. Some of the stuff you can find just needs to be tweaked a little an i count that in the design category. Anything that needs to be edited or started from scratch will be a steep learning curve for sure if you haven't done 3d/autocad design before. If you dont mind self teaching yourself (alot of good youtube videos) then you should be fine. To me its apart of the fun of the hobby is pretending to "engineer" these parts.
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Old 10-14-2019, 08:00 AM
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Originally Posted by sacmiata
I have been under the impression that you do not want to do resin as a 1st printer. Resin is expensive, hazardous to your health, requires more prep and cleanup, tank/bed actually wear out and are expensive, and outside of some specialty resin's just not that strong.

Not that resin printing doesnt have its place in the 3d print world, maybe just not for one just starting out.

https://all3dp.com/fdm-vs-sla/
  • Resin isn't that bad at the volumes you print. Per unit volume it is more expensive, but you're not printing huge things on it.
  • Resin has some extra work, but I think its not that big of a deal compared to the amount of cleanup I typically have to do on FDM parts.
All I can say is I was about to throw my FDM printer out the window with all the bed leveling issues I had at first. Then there is the constant tuning and tweaking to get any given filament to print or just making sure things don't get loose. FDMs are pretty complex mechanical systems. By contrast my resin printer printed beautifully from day 1. Leveling is a snap and there is a single moving part to worry about. Tuning resins is pretty much two parameters and there is a test print that can determine a new bottle in about 5 minutes.

Aside from the handling issues I'd say Resin is a clear winner for a newbie in terms of ease of use.

For RC use specifically
  • superior dimensional accuracy
  • supports are way easier to deal with
  • Prints complex shapes way easier
  • Non-directional strength (FDM you have to worry about layer orientation which could be really complex if you're trying to make a functional part for RC.
I mean if I were trying to print a knuckle or hub carrier, I'd do it on my resin machine since I have both.


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